One of the unexpected trends of the twenty-first century has been the utter inescapability of marketing and advertising. As audiences get smaller, and new metrics prove how effective some forms of advertising actually are, marketing has seeped into every aspect of our lives. And that includes, it turns out, the back ends of freight trucks, thanks to these eInk screens.
Trucks aren’t already slathered in local ads because they go lots of places, usually outside of the effective range of advertising. So these screens, which are essentially a series of Kindles networked together, solve that with modern technology. Really, this is an ingenious solution to a problem we didn’t have. e-Ink screens are visible in sunlight and have no glare, don’t emit light so they won’t dazzle drivers, only use power when they’re changing the image on the screen, and can easily ping GPS to switch ads. They’re dust and weatherproof, and easily removed and switched between trucks.
Granted, one could ask why this ingenuity has not been spent on, perhaps, finding more efficient fuel systems or perhaps working on better safety systems. But on the bright side, these signs could be used to report on road conditions and communicate crucial news to drivers, so there’s some value here. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing these everywhere, as the first units will be shipping soonish.
(via New Atlas)